Thursday 14 July 2011

Christmas Countdown - start your Christmas Planning Now!

 

Only 163 days to Christmas 2011!


If you're ready (are you ready?) to start planning for Christmas, take a look at christmas.organizedhome.com/printable/christmas-planner, a great resource for printing your own Christmas planners, calendars and checklists.

Even if extensive Christmas planning isn't your thing, you'll probably find it helpful to write a Christmas List.  

Make a simple list of friends and family, anyone you need to buy a Christmas Gift for. Then list any other essential Christmas items you may need, such as new decorations, lights, tableware etc.

Don't forget Christmas cards, wrapping paper, Christmas crackers - and you may wish to think about your Christmas menu.

Once you feel you have everything down on your list, set a budget for each new thing you need to buy this Christmas, and make a note of your budgetted amounts at the side of each item on your Christmas list.

Add up all the amounts to see what your grand total is - this is an estimate of what you are likely to spend this Christmas, although it is likely to be a conservative estimate - most of us end up spending more than we intend each Christmas. You might add an extra 'contingency' amount onto the subtotal for this. Consider Christmas parties, secret Santas and party outfits.

Next, divide your grand total by the number of months left between now and November, to create a monthly saving budget. If you start your Christmas planning in July, you have four months to prepare!

Now you can start a Christmas savings plan to ensure you have enough funds to pay for everything!

Happy Christmas planning!

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